My time is running out. I need to decide on a doctor now. I actually scheduled and paid deposit with Dr. Ortiz but now having 2nd thoughts. He did my lap band, wonderful experience, so just automatically thought he was the one for my revision.. Well I started receiving phone calls from coordinators because I sent for information on costs for other drs. just to compare prices. One coord. told me Dr. Ortiz was a great lapband dr but not much experience in vsg. She recommended Dr Garcia. They no longer recommend Dr. Kelly bc of some issues. Hmmm

Doing research, I am actually impressed with Dr. Kelly. Yes I know he had a death which concerns me. I called to get info on Dr Kelly. I had several numbers. The first call I got back was from Dr. Kelly himself. He assured my I would be in good hands. When I asked about all the drama, he stated that he didnt feel the coords were representing him well so he decided not to renew the contract with them. Now they are upset with him. After hanging up from him, I received a call from someone who still works with him (you know who im talking about, will not say her name), told her I was interested in Dr. kelly. She said she would book me with him but she recommended dr. Ponce de leon. Really pushed this dr. which I have not heard of, works out of INT hosp. But what about Dr. Kelly, he has great credentials. She stated he was a skilled surgeon but there were issues, regarding integrity. Dr. Kelly is $3,000 cheaper than Ortiz and has more experience with vsg. Dr. K is a member of FACS and ASMBS as is Dr. O. but im very concerned with all this drama, if there is more to it than disgruntled coords. I am a revision, so safety and experience is my #1 conceren.

I also saw a post where the person called all these hospitals and Dr. K is not allowed to operate there anymore but wouldnt state why. She was accused of being a coord for another dr. Geeez. Help!

This whole topic about Dr. Kelly and Trish really needs to come to an end. This has really gotten way out of hand.

It's pretty relevant to those of us who have our surgeries scheduled thru Trish with him!!!!!

Yeah, and I think everyone needs to talk to them directly and stop listening to everything that is being said on here. you can't please all of the people all the time. If you have aleady made your decision and you are comfortable with then go with it and stop listening to all the rubbish.

I do not want to freak anyone out cause I am soooo tired of people doing that to me, everyone has to make their OWN decisions, do your research and if you feel comfortable go for it, if you have doubts then don't do it... I am at a place right now I just feel overwhelmed and need to clear my head.

I believe i started this thread stating I was impressed with Dr. Kelly. Never did I bash Dr. Kelly. I was concerned with all the drama from professionals. I did not expect to call a number listed for a dr and have them recommend a different dr. Very unprofessional and to me that is a red flag. It makes you wonder if they know something that they are not telling you. That was my concern starting this topic.

To the idiot that thinks im being deceitful and posing as someone looking for wls, well you're just an idiot. I paid a $500 deposit to Dr. Ortiz, scheduled the surgery, even flew to Atlanta but because I fly standby I could not get to San Diego that day January 9th. I have the cashiers check still in hand, all I have to do is reschedule. I believe Dr. Ortiz is an excellant dr, as I stated he did my lapband and didnt think twice about booking revision with him until talking to a coord. I just dont know if he has enough revision experience. So exfatso take your lanceur de merde somewhere else.

Im not going to keep going with this, I have talked to Dr. K personally and feel very comfortable with his experience with revisions. He has great credentials and I will be booking my surgery for next week. His cell phone number is 619-793-4869 and email is jrkelly45@hotmail.com if anyone wants to book with him directly.

Dr. Kelly assured me he would take good care of me so I am at peace with my decision. For those that have just booked and now having doubts, call him directly. Im done dealing with any coordinators, they are the ones causing so much trouble for him.

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I had Dr. Kelly do my sleeve surgery Jan. 9th, and I had NO problems. He is a very caring and attentive surgeon. I would recommend him to any one thinking about getting sleeved. There were 6 of us on the same day, getting surgery, 3 with Dr. Kelly and the others with Dr. Garcia. Dr. Garcia's patients were all throwing up all the first night, and they looked terrible. One woman said that she thought she was going to die from the amount of times she was sick. I was so glad I went with Dr. Kelly instead of anyone else.

Trish confirmed via email last night that she is no longer working with Dr Kelly. She is to call me today. I already have an email in to Dr Kelly. I'm hoping to go vdirectly thru him and keep mysurgery date.

joyceob21,

My apologies for my wrongful accusation. At that time two commenters said after my first “cut the crap” comment (inspired by your not mentioning Trish by name) that Trish was still booking for Dr. Kelly. Since then many have corroborated what you posted, and so, again, I apologize. So I’m back to if Trish isn’t working with him anymore, it’s case closed. There’s more than enough indication to stay away from the guy.

Trish is not working for Dr. Kelly anymore because he is taking over his own bookings and his wife is in charge of it. Dr. Kelly will not be using co-ordinators anymore. It is not indication to not have surgery with Dr. Kelly.

Well, I am a COMPLETE mess over this. I just got off the phone with Trish who told nme she had good news and bad news...I told her, I don't care in which order she gave it, just tell it to me straight! She didn't go into detail but said she is no longer working with him and when pushed she said she still loves him, he's an excellent surgeon but she couldn't recommend him. She's been wanting to do this for a long time. She's been working with Dr., Ponce and when I asked her why she didn't recommend Dr. Ponce when I first got started researching, she said she didn't want to sway my decision.

Now, not trying to be a "Mom" about this, but I told her that if she had Monetary or philisophical differences with Dr. Kelly that's one thing.. but if people are flying in from all across North America, she did have an obligation to let folks know if there was an issue about his ability as a surgeon...

I've done research like many of you.. but I've also relied on the testimony of those that have gone through this before me. At the end of the day, that's what people do, whether in the states or not... I was initially impressed with ALL of the doctors, and thought.. Dang, how can anybody choose??? I was actually thinking to myself that I had to get over going to "Mexico".. because good health care is not just exclusive to the United States...

Oh well, I digress... I'm pissed, upset, disappointed, etc.. with this new issue. I was already dealing with my insurance company that said NO bariatric surgery was covered. Then I had to figure out how to pay, what I had in savings, what I could take out from 401k, when I could have the surgery, etc... and now this...

This is not about money.. I think we all know that... yes, you can research until the cows come home, but at the end of the day, it has to be a gut decision based on feelings/ facts, etc...

Unfortunately... my gut is full of mashed potatoes and meatloaf!!!! I can't even think straight and don't know what to do.

I NEED this surgery... and damn if I don't feel like maybe this is a sign..Jenny Craig?? weight watchers??

Seannie

I think you need to talk to the surgeon himself. Give him a call.

THANK YOU SEANNIE!!! This is exactly how I have been feeling and Trish told me the exact same thing! I am still so confused and me and my husband even fought over it!!! He thinks now all Mexico surgeons are going to be bad, WHICH IS WRONG... And looks like I will have to wait and save more money if I chose to go with someone else... I went from on top of the world to down in the dumps....

Well, I am a COMPLETE mess over this. I just got off the phone with Trish who told nme she had good news and bad news...I told her, I don't care in which order she gave it, just tell it to me straight! She didn't go into detail but said she is no longer working with him and when pushed she said she still loves him, he's an excellent surgeon but she couldn't recommend him. She's been wanting to do this for a long time. She's been working with Dr., Ponce and when I asked her why she didn't recommend Dr. Ponce when I first got started researching, she said she didn't want to sway my decision.

Now, not trying to be a "Mom" about this, but I told her that if she had Monetary or philisophical differences with Dr. Kelly that's one thing.. but if people are flying in from all across North America, she did have an obligation to let folks know if there was an issue about his ability as a surgeon...

I've done research like many of you.. but I've also relied on the testimony of those that have gone through this before me. At the end of the day, that's what people do, whether in the states or not... I was initially impressed with ALL of the doctors, and thought.. Dang, how can anybody choose??? I was actually thinking to myself that I had to get over going to "Mexico".. because good health care is not just exclusive to the United States...

Oh well, I digress... I'm pissed, upset, disappointed, etc.. with this new issue. I was already dealing with my insurance company that said NO bariatric surgery was covered. Then I had to figure out how to pay, what I had in savings, what I could take out from 401k, when I could have the surgery, etc... and now this...

This is not about money.. I think we all know that... yes, you can research until the cows come home, but at the end of the day, it has to be a gut decision based on feelings/ facts, etc...

Unfortunately... my gut is full of mashed potatoes and meatloaf!!!! I can't even think straight and don't know what to do.

I NEED this surgery... and damn if I don't feel like maybe this is a sign..Jenny Craig?? weight watchers??

Seannie

@Spirits... yep, my hubby and I fought over this too. He is having a FIT.. he wasn't keen on me doing this in the first place.. you know.. the usual.. blah, blah, blah.. just get up and go to the gym with me.. stop eating late.. get up in the morning and go walk... whatever! Yes dear... sure thing.. yep, it's that easy! (insert rolling of the eyes and sarcasm here)

Once i convinced him that this "drastic" surgery (his words) was warranted, he seemed to be ok.. except when I mentioned Mexico.. then he really tripped! After many calls with Trish AND a call from Dr. Kelly (I mean what US surgeon does that???) he was okay...

Now this... I've taken 3 steps forward, and now 3 steps back... I NEED this.. I WANT this... but damn, what's a woman to do??? There are a lot of competent doctors in Mexico, but if you dig deep enough , don't they all have issues?? Hell, if this were covered by my insurance, I might not care as much because I'd have a patient advocate, and truth be told, a mighty good lawyer if something went askew.. but since it's not covered and I don't have legal resources.. if something happens.. I'm **** out of luck... (pardon my french)

So what woud you do if your patient advocate was suddenly fired or quit? Would you change surgeons?

@ Circa... Not sure what you are leading towards Circa... but i can tell you that with most insurance companies in the states, there is many more than "1" patient adovcate, in fact it's usually a team of people... and truth be told, having a good attorney is really what you want in case something goes wrong. An attorney that can get beyond the "you can't sue us" clause...

But that is not the point... the point is that there is a sudden change in direction with no real explanation of what happened - from either side. it's scheduling a surgery that I wasn't all that happy about doing in the first place.. All i needed was an excuse not to do it, and lo and behold this happens.. while I care about what happens with other folks.. bottom line, my arse is up there on the table. I want a skilled physician and treats me like "I was one of his own".. it's the exact same expectation that i'd have from a surgeon here in Georgia..

I spoke with Dr. Kelly today, after hearing about the news and to be honest I was rather put off. I kind of ridiculed Donna the other day about making a judgement on personality and now I take that back!

He was more than rude. I have dealt with many egotistical doctors, my father worked at UCSF with some of them, but this was bad. I had inquired about whether the accommodations I had with Trish would still be valid (I was going to arrive a day early) and he flat out said he didn't care.

It was just a little mean to me I guess. I have yet to decide what I want to do. :/